Witchcraft

A letter to the Editor of the Gazette de Guernesey, November 1873. From the French [DAB].

WITCHCRAFT

To the Editor of the Gazette.

[November 1873]

 

Sir, — Considering the enlightened century in which we live, it is deplorable to witness the extent of the credulity and superstition of some of the inhabitants of this island. Some believe in the existence of witches, others in ghosts, others in warnings, and yet others give credence to popular superstitions that go back to the time of our ancestors. In this letter, Sir, I will leave to one side the ghosts, the warnings, and all other such beliefs, and deal specifically with witchcraft.

First of all, what is a witch? If you ask one of our unfortunate ‘believers’ this question, they will immediately reply: a witch is a person, who, through the relations he or she has with his Satanic Majesty, with the help they obtain from him, and by means of certain potions, charms and other secret techniques, can inflict on their neighbour any bad thing they please, even having the power to kill their enemies.

The effect of this belief is serious.

Should it happen that one of these unfortunate people falls ill - or maybe a member of their family does, or then again one of their cattle, if their cows produce less butter than usual, if their horses refuse to pull too heavy a load - they will immediately blame witches, and often will accuse their neighbours or even their closest friends. This has given rise to continuing quarrels, hatred, and animosity between several families, families which ought otherwise to be living amicably in peace together. Sometimes the self-declared ensorcellé [bewitched] visits a so-called désorcelleresse [female spell-lifter], who exploits their gullibility, deceiving and duping them, and who eventually pockets the proceeds of their delusion. Or again, they buy the liver of an ox or some other kind of animal, pierce it with twenty-five needles (the desired number), put it on the fire, and naively believe that, as the liver burns up, so dies the witch, little by little.

Other people resort to threats. Only a few months ago, a respectable person ended up in custody, accused of having assaulted, terrified and threated to kill a poor frail old man whom he declared had bewitched him. Recently the two sons of a respectable farmer, both armed with their best pitchfork, attacked a poor old woman and her daughter, whose only crime was to be too simple-natured, and threatened to run them through with the pitchforks for the very same reason. Ignorant folk! If you held the levers of justice, where would we be? We would still be in the sixteenth or seventeenth century, and innocent people would die at the stake for the so-called crime of witchcraft.

I almost forgot to tell you a quite funny anecdote, Sir, in which a purported désorcelleresse made a bit of a fool of a self-styled ensorcellé. A certain farmer paid a visit to our désorcelleresse to get from her some medicine for a mare whom he said had been bewitched. Having paid plenty for the consultation and as much again for the medicines, he demanded the identity of the witch be revealed to him. ‘Indeed, sir,’ she said, ‘if you are prepared to pay me in advance, I can show you the witch.’ He handed over the amount she asked. ‘So,’ he cried menacingly, ‘where is this wretch of a witch?’ ‘If you go and look in that,’ she replied, pointing to a mirror that stood at the far end of the room, ‘you will see the witch, who will be staring straight at you.’  Our bumpkin was mug enough to go and look at himself in the mirror and to discover, somewhat late in the day and at no little expense, that he himself was the witch. The truth was that he had been starving his poor nag. Nonetheless, I do have this to say in his favour — after this incident he stopped believing in witches.

It is regrettable that most of these unfortunates, amongst whom I am sorry to say are to be found respectable and intelligent people, glean from, and support their false doctrines with, certain passages of the Bible, for example in the 22^nd Chapter of Exodus, where one finds the following verse: ‘Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live’. Many scholars maintain that in this remarkable passage, the Hebrew word chasaph refers only to poisoners; others claim that the while the word might also refer to witches, it indicates a powerless and unskilled kind, who would never go as far as to poison their enemies. For example, when Satan wanted to test Job’s virtue, instead of requesting permission from the supreme master of the human race, as Scripture relates, if witches then had possessed the powers people try to attribute to them today, he would have used witches as his instruments to inflict harm on Job! In the same way, he asks permission to sift Peter like corn (Luke 22: 31), but we do not see any witches making an appearance as his agents. So, if Satan cannot harm us without asking God’s permission, is it possible that any other person has this superhuman power, which belongs only to the Creator? History shows us a long list of murders and poisonings committed by all kinds of people, from royalty to peasants. If witches had existed, it seems unlikely that these kings and other people would have risked their lives and fortunes by committing these crimes: no, on the contrary they would have successfully enlisted the help of the witches.

I will stop here with my arguments, Sir, not wishing to impose on your kindness by filling up the columns of your esteemed newspaper, which can be put by you to better use; but I may yet have cause to return to this important subject. Meanwhile, allow me, Sir, to exhort your readers not to get carried away with such ridiculous superstitions as the existence of witches, who can in fact live only in the imagination. And, dear Guernsey people, if some calamity befalls you, you or your family, or any of your animals, take it as the work of Providence. Read your Bible, and indeed you will find that ... God chastens those He loves.

D-M LE C.

Sablons, 12 November 1873